The Pinnacle of Goblin Engineering

Tae-hyun quickly recovered from the shock. He was never one to dwell on such things for long.

"By the way, Gabriel, aren't you crafting anything else?"

"Do you mean a bomb?"

"No, not a bomb."

"Do you mean a bigger bomb?"

"..."

Tae-hyun was so dumbfounded he couldn't speak. Gabriel was a highly skilled mechanical engineering blacksmith; if he focused on crafting something other than bombs, it would definitely sell. No, in fact, Tae-hyun desperately wished he would. He had to manage a territory now, so ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠what was the point of endlessly churning out bombs? Unless they were going to bury them all around the borders, he needed to redirect Gabriel's focus toward something actually useful.

"Not those... try making some equipment, mounts, or at least some other items. Since you, their leader, do nothing but make bombs, all the other blacksmiths are just copying you!"

"Hmm. I have tried making various other things in the past."

"Really? Like what?"

"Weapons and equipment, like ordinary blacksmiths do. But since everyone else was making the exact same things, I figured I needed to do something different to be competitive."

"Like bombs?"

"Haha. I hadn't thought of bombs back then... I was looking up various skills, pondering what kind of specialized blacksmith I should become."

Tae-hyun was slightly surprised. He had assumed Gabriel had been running around shouting "Hehe, fire the bomb!" since the very start of the game...

"Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Oh, no. It's nothing. Keep talking."

"Anyway, I looked into a lot of things, but nothing really clicked. I did find an NPC and learned a few skills from a relatively rare class called the Lajedan Blacksmith, but players didn't really like them."

Just because a skill or class was rare didn't mean it was good. Sometimes, it was rare simply because it was awkward or terrible to use! But Tae-hyun was startled. A Lajedan Blacksmith? Weren't those the very skills he was currently putting to excellent use? Skills like Disguise, Counterfeit, and the like...

'Hmm. Come to think of it, players would absolutely hate them.'

Blacksmith players needed to craft and sell items to grow, but who in their right mind would bypass a normal blacksmith to seek out a Lajedan Blacksmith?

"Besides, if you don't have a guild, the gatekeeping among blacksmiths is incredibly severe... But then, I discovered bombs, and my life was forever changed!"

Gabriel, who had been speaking so calmly, suddenly had his eyes blaze with a fiery passion the moment he uttered the word "bombs"! Tae-hyun took a slight step back.

"I am always so grateful to you, Lord Tae-hyun!"

"Y-yeah. I get it, so could you take a step back? Also, do you mind if I ask what Lajedan Blacksmith skills you have?"

Tae-hyun was intrigued by the class. A slightly unhinged skill set combined with a blacksmithing class was right up his alley! If he hadn't been forced into the Avatar of Archisus class, he might have seriously considered becoming a Lajedan Blacksmith.

"I learned a skill called Soul Overdrive."

"...?"

A skill that sounded highly suspicious just from its name! Gabriel smiled and said,

"It's not really a weird skill. It's just a buff skill."

An equipment buff skill. Aside from crafting, it was one of a blacksmith's main sources of income. One of the primary reasons players brought blacksmiths along on hunts or raids was precisely because of this skill! The presence of an equipment buff cast by an experienced blacksmith made a night-and-day difference. However, despite having reached Advanced rank in both Blacksmithing and Engineering, Tae-hyun had very few equipment buff skills. At most, he had Weapon Tempering for weapons and Armor Reinforcement for armor. Since he hadn't chosen the blacksmith class as his primary profession, he only possessed the basic skills. Of course, he had polished those basic skills to an absurd degree, making their skill levels incredibly high... He also had skills like Blessing of Archisus, but that wasn't a blacksmithing skill.

"An equipment buff skill? If it's a buff, why is it called Soul Overdrive?"

"Well... the buff effect is incredible, but in exchange, the equipment's durability plummets drastically. Even its maximum durability is permanently reduced..."

"...!"

As expected of a Lajedan Blacksmith skill, it came with a bizarre catch and a severe side effect! It was completely understandable why other players hated it.

But Tae-hyun was a different story. He was one of those rare players who treated his equipment as entirely disposable! Since he already planned to use skills to enhance ordinary items to their absolute limits, there was no skill more perfect for him than this.

"Where can I get that skill?"

"Huh? You want a skill like this? Absolutely no one uses it..."

"Any skill is good if you know how to use it. So, where did you learn it?"

"Hold on... I think I have a skill book for it around here somewhere..."

"You have a skill book?!"

Tae-hyun was taken aback. In Pan-On, learning a skill usually required completing a quest—either a class quest or a general one. And the rewards from such quests were typically bound to the individual. Skills that existed as tradeable skill books that anyone could use were almost always common, basic skills!

'Is a Lajedan Blacksmith class skill supposed to be some common skill?'

"Yes. Honestly, the only reason I learned Lajedan Blacksmith skills in the first place was because the NPC sold the skill books to anyone who paid them gold."

"I-I see."

"Ah, here it is! After I learned it, I thought that if the effect turned out to be good, I could sell it to other blacksmiths for a high price, so I bought a few extra copies..."

"If you'll accept it, Lord Tae-hyun, nothing would make me happier!"

"Thanks. I'll put it to good use."

"Lord Tae-hyun. As I said earlier, my gratitude is entirely sincere. And I'm sure the other blacksmiths feel the same way."

Gabriel spoke with absolute sincerity. Tae-hyun felt a slight lump in his throat. So what if they're a bunch of lunatics obsessed with bombs? They follow me so loyally!

"...In that spirit, would you like to craft a bomb with us—"

"I will make excellent use of this skill."

"Tch."

'Hmm. This is actually pretty good.'

Tae-hyun smiled with satisfaction as he looked at his skill window. The more skills, the better! There was absolutely no downside to having another tool in his arsenal.

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

'I wonder where I can find that Lajedan Blacksmith NPC?'

Being able to buy skills with just gold was an incredible opportunity. Tae-hyun wanted to go look for him immediately, but unfortunately, he couldn't.

"He's a wandering NPC, so I'm not really sure where he is right now..."

The NPC's location wasn't fixed.

'Well, nothing I can do about it. I should be satisfied with getting this.'

Tae-hyun wished he had more opportunities to acquire skills like this, but he pushed the thought aside and moved on to his next task.

The next task was a solo job. One that Gabriel couldn't help with.

—Artifact ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Crafting of Archisus!

'First, the ores I swiped from the Orcs' secret warehouse, and the gems from the territory...'

These were things he had gathered from all over. Some were quest rewards, others were extorted from players. Tae-hyun poured these precious items into the mix without a single shred of hesitation. When aiming for a jackpot, one must never be stingy.

'As for the appearance... just like Lee Da-bi said, it's best to make it look as rugged as possible!'

Since the person who would actually be using it had requested it, Tae-hyun planned to accommodate her as much as possible.

Clang, clang, clang—

"Why does that thing look so incredibly bulky?"

"Isn't the design a bit weird?"

Cain and Choi Sang-yun asked in bewilderment whenever they passed by. It looked excessively rugged. Was there really a need to design it that way?

"An item is all about its performance!"

"Well, yeah, but... wouldn't it be better if it looked good too?"

"Tsk, tsk."

Tae-hyun shook his head, looking at Choi Sang-yun with pity.

"My friend, this is what's trending these days."

"......????"

Choi Sang-yun tilted his head. A trend he had never heard of!

"W-what trend?"

"You really are out of the loop."

Tae-hyun patted Choi Sang-yun on the shoulder and walked away.

"..."

For some reason, it felt incredibly humiliating! To hear "you're out of the loop" from Tae-hyun, of all people—who was normally light-years away from any fashion or trend!

'No, but seriously, what trend is he talking about?'

Artifact crafting didn't require him to be glued to the furnace the entire time. He had pockets of free time in between. Tae-hyun decided to use this opportunity to read the blueprint he had received from the Goblins. He was quite curious about what it was.

'Goblins are all about engineering, so they definitely wouldn't have given me something useless!'

—Identify.

"...!"

A name that instantly amplified his expectations! A Universal Maker? What on earth...!

Tae-hyun hurriedly checked the item description.

"...That's it?"

That was literally all it said.

'N-no. There's no way. There's absolutely no way...!'

Denying reality, Tae-hyun summoned the mechanical engineering blacksmiths and crafted the Goblin Universal Maker. It required an Advanced rank or higher in Engineering to build, but the materials themselves were common metals like steel and copper, which were readily available in the warehouse. However...

"Then, I'll try putting something in!"

"Yeah. Go ahead."

One of the blacksmiths tossed in a piece of iron ore.

"Here's some cheese..."

"IT REALLY IS COMPLETELY RANDOM!!!"

Seething with rage, Tae-hyun hurled the cheese. Cain, who was standing nearby, got smacked right on the head with it.

"Whew... fine. Expecting too much from something obtained for free makes me the thief."

"Did you call for a thief, Lord Tae-hyun?"

"No. And Galakpad, I didn't call for Ed-an."

He had only built up his expectations because they kept calling it an "ancient secret," but in reality, it was just something he got for free. There was no reason to be disappointed.

"Tsk... just install this in the center of the territory and tell whoever wants to use it to go wild."

"Is that really alright?"

"Yeah. It's too awkward to find a proper use for anyway..."

A completely randomized output. This was something even Tae-hyun couldn't control. Tae-hyun smacked his lips and said,

"I need to finish crafting the artifact as quickly as possible and head out to convert the pirate tribes."

The Orcs of the Uruk Region had been crushed, leaving only the pirate tribes. Fortunately, with the Orcs out of the picture, persuading them would likely be much easier.

'What do pirates like? Rum? Parrots? Gunpowder? It'd be great if they were as easy to deal with as the Goblins.'

"As expected of Lord Tae-hyun! Seeing your devotion to spreading the majesty of Archisus from the west to the east of the continent moves me to tears..."

Watching Galakpad tremble with emotion in his old age, Tae-hyun suddenly felt a wave of anxiety wash over him.

'Is this guy about to...'

"Galakpad. You're coming with me."

It was a preemptive measure to stop him from causing any trouble!

"Pardon?"

"What, you don't want to?"

"It is an absolute honor!"

Galakpad practically jumped for joy.

"To think that I, Galakpad, would participate in the Pope's great crusade! Though this body is old, I shall dedicate my very life to—"

"Oh, what's this? Is Galakpad going outside?"

Pelmas, who was passing by, overheard and asked with a bright, hopeful expression.

In that instant, Tae-hyun and Galakpad locked eyes. They both realized exactly what the other was about to say.

"You must take Pelmas with you as well..."

"Right. Pelmas. You're coming with us too!"

"...I-I have suddenly come down with a terrible stomach ailment... Urgh...!"